Tainted Hearts Deserve to be Eaten
by CendrithePyroQueen
Summary: Ryou searched for her every day, in his hopes that he'd be able to find his sister. One rather unlucky search ends with the discovery of a boy called Malik and the information that there is a human alive who knows everything. He can have this information at a price, all he has to do is pass ten impossible tests. Easy enough right? Angstshipping
1. Prologue

**Summery**

**The King knows everything. There is no question you could ask him that he would not have an answer to. World domination? He can tell you how to get it step by step. Getting away with murder? Simple. Winning someone's heart? Piece of cake. However, there are ten tests for those who wish to obtain the answer they want so dearly. Only the pure of heart deserve such knowledge after all. You wager your life, and your very heart itself. Ryou figures anything's worth learning where his sister is, so with the help of Malik his new classmate with a grand set of secrets he starts his trials. Tainted hearts only deserve to be eaten after all.**

**Warning- This story contains violence, cussing, shounen-ai, and the inner workings of my mind**

**The pairing is Angstshipping~ I'll let you know if I add anymore**

**Okay, New story. I haven't had one of these in a while huh? Any who I adore this one; I actually have a plan for it and everything! Huzzah!**

**Disclaimer- The characters in this story don't belong to me. And there are probably a few other things I'm using that don't belong to me in this story. **

Prologue: Show

"You wanted to speak with me?" The rotted door squealed in protest as Malik gently closed it behind him. He paused for a moment not sure whether proceeding deeper into his Kings room was smart or not. He held the doorknob behind his back as he hesitated, watching as the King poured over a large book on his desk. He took a small breath in, ready to announce he'd shown up for the meeting the King had insisted on having with him once more,

"Yo-"

"Take a seat" He was not graced with the Kings eyes, he hadn't bothered looking up from whatever he was reading, which at this point was obviously more important than whatever he'd wanted from Malik.

Without speaking again Malik strode forward. The only seat in the room was the Kings; as such Malik continued to stand. He was used to this…test. The King would drop an order that was rather hard to do without making you look like a fool. Anyone unaccustomed to the Kings games would sit themselves on the floor and thus prove who they were. People like Malik however went against the order. He'd been taught the importance of pride by the King himself. Thus he would not lower himself. Not even at the feet of his king.

He noticed a small smirk tug at his kings' lips at the proof that Malik was in fact no form of imposter. However, this didn't move his king to speech. As the book was more interesting than Maliks presence. They stood in silence for a long time. Maliks eyes wandered around the room, the only light came from two dim lamps. One short one on the Kings desk and one tall one behind it. It was remarkable that the man could even get electricity in his much adored study. But Malik supposed the King could easily figure out how to hook it up with his vast knowledge.

Shadows pooled around the room, wrapping their long fingers around the feet of his Kings' desk and the bookshelf that stood companionably behind the Kings tall lamp. However, the shadows couldn't quite make the room cold. It simply seemed warm in the Kings study, from the weak, kind light to the faded red carpet to the smooth light wood of the Kings desk.

"You've been doubting yourself." Maliks head snapped back to face the king. A small spider web of chills spread across his gut.

"No I haven't. I'm bored your highness, not doubtful" He knew it was futile. One of his numerous weaknesses was being addressed and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He wasn't exactly sure why he was fighting, there was no way he was going to avoid it.

"Malik." Malik didn't move, he shut his mouth and looked at the ground

"Yes, your highness?"

"Don't lie."

"Yes, Your highness."

"Remember who you are. You may not show it much, but you're one of the most powerful people I know. Without you there would be no show for us." A small smirk came across the Kings face, "You should know by now how important it is that we have a show"

Malik nodded stiffly, His lilac eyes fell to the carpet at his feet and the black boots he was wearing, "The show is all we have to keep men from running wild with power" he recited, "The stage is set. We need no more than our 11 actors and of course our main character."

"Correct" The king purred, "How is our main character Malik?"

"Doomed" He tucked a few strands of blond hair behind his ear, "Absolutely doomed."

The Kings grin sent more chills up and down Maliks back. This, in his opinion was the worst part of his job. Whenever someone came to the king they may as well have been signing their own death warrant. And every time someone came, Malik had to watch them die. He figured it was a little cruel. Sure he'd been taught that anyone seeking the King deserved whatever fate they were given but… It didn't make the mental scars easier to bare.

"The blackness in his heart is his downfall" This was another thing Malik had heard so many times he could recite it. Victim after victim of the King were said to have not gotten what they wanted due to the 'blackness in their hearts'

Malik knew better than to disagree with his King, "I am impressed with him though; he's made it all the way to Marik… It's a shame really…"

"No. He doesn't deserve what he seeks." Sternly Malik was reminded, "If he did He'd be able to defeat Marik tomorrow. You don't seem to think he can. As such he won't get anything from me"

Malik nodded so as to not say something upsetting to his King again.

'_Out of respect,'_ he told himself, _'not fear.'_

Silence once again held the two in her suffocating grip. Her unbearable weight lying thickly in the room to a point where it was almost tangible. For Malik anyway, he suspected that his King wasn't having much trouble with it.

"Do you… think someone will ever be deserving of your knowledge, your highness?" For the first time in the conversation the King raised his eyes to meet Maliks.

"Yes. Humans are all tainted but, not all of them are undeserving," The King had a deep frown on his face as he continued staring unnervingly into Maliks purple orbs.

"Is that not good?" He asked, keeping his eyes level with his kings. One grew used to intense stars after a while.

"You're the best judge of that my boy" A small smile overturned the Kings frown. But Malik felt no better than he had before. Without proper answers he couldn't tell whose side his king was on, or how this would play out for him as time went on.

"I suppose so…" Finally Malik broke eye contact to look back at his boots.

"Malik, Try not to be so serious" the King leaned forward, resting his pale elbows on his desk, "It's a show! Entertainment! It's all fun and games, even though some people are going to have to get hurt! You shouldn't worry so much about them."

"Right" Malik didn't look up, "Is there something you want me to do, your highness?"

"Lighten up. Don't be so hard on yourself. You have a purpose most humans would die to have, so enjoy it. This life of yours only comes around for you once"

"Yes my King" Malik whispered

"You're dismissed."

Malik turned and moved quietly back to the door, opening it quickly so that it's screeches of pain wouldn't last long.

"Malik." Malik froze

"Yes?"

"It's a show" The King murmured for what felt like the millionth time. Malik had stopped trying to figure out who the King was persuading that his 'Show' was just a show and not some twisted set of impossible tests meant to destroy anyone who dared try to ask him something.

"So give them a show. I know, your highness"

**Thanks for reading! I would like to have a beta for this story so if anyone is interested please let me know!**


	2. Typical Tuesday

**Okay, chapter one!**

**Hello everyone! There are a few quick things I'd like to say before the chapter starts. 1.) This explains nearly none of the plot so pretty please bare with me for a few more chapters and things will start making sense 2.)I swear there is no Halfshipping (Ryou x Miho) it's just one-sided 3.) I don't have a beta so I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes, or grammar mistakes or anything else I screw up. I'm still looking for a beta if anyone's interested in helping me…? 4.) Okay, last point, I'd like to say thank you to SailorDeathMoon and Lazy Gaga for their reviews and thank you to those who favorited and put alerts on this story. It means a lot to me!**

**Disclaimer- Look to the prologue for the story's disclaimer, for it won't be changing.**

**ON WITH THE STORY!**

Chapter 1- Typical Tuesday

"_What are you doing in my room?"_

"_I- uh…."_

"_Are those my cards?"_

"_No?"_

"_Amane put them down."_

"_I just wanna play with them!"_

"_You can't! You don't even know the rules to Duel Monsters!"_

"_But I-"_

"_Get out Amane!"_

"_Fine! I didn't want to play with your stupid cards in the first place!"_

_~Tainted~_

Ryou absolutely hated Tuesdays.

Even Mondays had a certain kind sleepy attitude to them that was kind enough to let him stumble through the day, from class to class without such things as unstudied for tests, assignments due or great amounts of homework dumped over his head.

But Tuesday always just smirked at his gentle mood from Monday and devised clever ways to ruin it. First it would start small. Ryou would have misplaced his only clean uniform and spend all morning trying to find it without any time to eat anything or even brush his hair before school. Then it'd kick it up a notch and in his rush to catch his train to school he'd trip down the stairs and publicly humiliate himself. He'd get stuck with a deadbeat for a partner on an important assignment, he'd trip and spill his lunch, and there would be a project he hadn't even known existed due. It was relentless!

Ryou _really_ hated Tuesdays

So when he woke up, he was guarded and ready to go. Weirdly enough, there were no hold ups with his uniform. Or his breakfast. Or his personal hygiene.

Pleasantly surprised and still suspiciously watching his step, Ryou hurried off to the subway station, nothing jumped out at him, there was no maniacal laughter followed by some cliché "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?", No bullies found him, his train didn't crash, he actually managed to make it to school in one piece.

He wasn't sure whether to be happy Tuesday had decided to take the day off or scared that all his usual bad luck could be pulling itself together in order to drop a bomb in his life. Being an optimistic person, he tried his best to believe that the first choice was the correct one and that he should be thanking his lucky stars profoundly.

He managed to get to class early and found that Miho was already there, waiting for him.

She'd been his friend for as long as he could remember. Starting when she'd stood up for him in grade school the two had become inseparable, attached at the hip some might say. However, she'd developed a crush for him that he simply couldn't return, thus he had only started relaxing around her in the recent months when she'd given up on him and gone forth to find her 'perfect man'.

The two had become rather close once more upon Ryou feeling it was safe to be around her without destroying her feelings by not returning them.

"Ryou!" Miho chirped, "Good morning!"

She didn't seem to notice that he'd fallen out of his unlucky-Tuesday pattern and actually managed to show up to class on time and unscathed. Though, he hadn't really expected her to. All best friend attributes aside, she was still one of the most air-headed girls he knew and he supposed not even a sign of the apocalypse like a lucky Tuesday could fix that.

"Morning Miho" Ryou smiled brightly at her, pushing all his doubts and worry to the back of his mind as he dropped his books off at his desk and went to stand by hers, "Hey, did you ever manage to get those photos printed?"

Miho's face fell, and Ryou felt a twinge of guilt, "Miho is sorry… Miho's stupid little sister broke her computer"

Ryou's guilt receded into pride when he didn't flinch at the word 'sister'

He held up his hands, smiling to show her he wasn't angry, "Please don't worry Miho! I don't need them anytime soon. My apartment's been bare for this long; it can wait a little longer!"

Miho nodded but still looked rather guilty about it all. The two of them had spoken about how the empty walls of Ryou's little apartment had crept them out on multiple occasions. Well… Miho had said they crept her out, Ryou had just said it didn't feel much like home without anything hanging up to distract the eye from the bleak white walls. He hadn't been prepared to do anything about it though, Aside from money for food, rent, and school Ryou was absolutely broke. However his birthday had been no more than a month before and Miho had dragged him from his usual routine to go take pictures with her of scenery, his favorite coffee shop and the two of them so that he could finally decorate his home with memories.

Though, he suspected she'd only thought of this particular present to keep him from his usual routine. He recalled a fight they'd had a while back where she'd called it 'depressing', 'unhealthy', and 'hopeless'. They hadn't spoken for two weeks afterwards aside from a few cruel comments in the hallways and a few of Miho's suitors threatening him for hurting her. After she'd broken down crying at school when she saw him he'd felt bad enough to go apologize. Going to a length of standing outside the girls' bathroom for three periods waiting for her to come out. She never talked down on his routine after that fight, seeing as it was obvious she'd be dropped from his life before he gave it up. Needless to say Ryou wasn't ready to cut his only thread of hope on her account.

"Miho heard that Shima-sensai is planning a unit test on Thursday…" She tried to sound as if she was stating something she didn't care much about; however Ryou detected an undertone in her voice that implied that she expected something from him.

Ryou figured she was trying to be sly about asking him for help to see if she could get him to read what she meant and agree without her needing to ask him to study with her. She looked up at him through her bangs, batting her eyes gently, to work her manipulation. A lesser man (which Ryou ruefully noted would probably be any other man in his situation) might have fallen over himself asking her to a study date for nothing more than the word 'date' and the smile on her face. Miho was pulling a pair of irresistible puppy eyes that might have just made Ryou give in if not for one tiny little fact:

He'd taught her how to use those puppy eyes. Thus he was impervious to any effect they may have had.

"You might wanna study for it then" Ryou replied without missing a beat.

Miho frowned; it was all too often she lost these will-battles with him seeing as she never gave any though to a plan B retort when her usual magic didn't work. She should have known that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seduce Ryou into helping her with her usual tactics. He wouldn't fall for her mind-tricks because he wasn't too busy staring into her eyes to forget what he was saying.

_God_, he must have been _gay_ or something.

She sighed deeply earning a twinge of a smirk from Ryou who, in turn enjoyed rubbing the fact that Miho couldn't manipulate him with her weak mind games in her face. Seeing someone through the best, worst, and cruelest things they were capable of tended to make one immune to their trickery. Ryou was a prime example of this.

"Miho would… But those textbooks are so hard to understand they may as well be written in English!" She leaned forward on her desk, trying her best to look pathetic, it was her last attempt at their little game before she pulled her trump card, "But you understand them so easily… If you could just share some of your knowledge with Miho…"

She was graced with a raised eye brow and a 'That's all you got?' look. Finally she let out a sigh and pulled the ace she'd been hiding,

"Miho's Kaa-san made cream puffs…"

"So, when do you wanna study for this test?"

Every man had his weaknesses. And unfortunately for Ryou, Miho knew his all too well.

She brightened a bit, still pretty down in spirits for her lack of success in getting Ryou to make it look like he was inviting her on this study date rather than her bribing him with food. For a moment she really wanted to hit whomever said "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" because no matter how many times she tried to get to him through his stomach she could never quite get his heart. He'd stopped believing that she liked him after she simply lied about wanting to find a 'perfect man' even though she blatantly tried to flirt with him millions of times afterwards. He never seemed to think is was anything more than her messing with him.

It drove her absolutely crazy.

"After school? Miho needs to copy your notes!" She smiled as genuinely as she could whilst mentally tearing her hair out.

Ryou nodded faintly, "Sounds good, I'll come over after I've finished looking for Amane"

Miho groaned, "You can't be serious? Miho thought Tuesday was the one day you didn't look for her!"

It was true, due to his bad luck on Tuesdays Ryou generally avoided going out to search for his sister. After all one little slip up in the wrong place could leave Ryou mugged, raped, or _killed_ in an ally somewhere. So being the intelligent boy he was Ryou deduced it was not in his best interest to go looking through those alleys in search of Amane whilst his luck wasn't at its best.

Today was different though. He could feel it

~Tainted~

_Curses rasped painfully from Ryou's lungs. It was the worst possible time to be lost. And what was he? Lost. Miserably lost. The sharp twists and turns of Dominos alley ways felt like a labyrinth to Ryou's panic ridden mind. The more turns he took the more lost he was. _

_His legs felt as though every step he took deteriorated his flesh and bones bit by bit, and sooner or later they would no longer be strong enough to hold his weight. The mental image of them crumbling under him did no more than coax a fresh set of tears from his eyes, blurring his vision more and making everything harder to make out in the dim light. He would have sworn someone had been rubbing sand-paper against his throat had he not known how long he'd been fleeing the grasp of whoever- No _whatever_ was chasing him. He'd looked at them long enough to see that they at least seemed human. But he had a hard time believing that they actually were._

_It didn't matter all that much_ what_ they were though. What mattered was that they were _after him_. He had to keep running. He needed to get away. He could hear their gruff raspy voices conversing in hurried barks of Japanese from not far behind him. At this rate he was doomed. There was nothing he could do to-_

_His vision blurred a considerable amount more than when tears came to his eyes and for a moment his body felt quite light. Though his feet still skidded slightly on the concrete beneath them. He was yanked quickly to the side, a hand had forced him to duck into a dead-end alley only and idiot would run into to get away. _

_At his first instinct he tried to scream but a dark hand muzzled him before the noise could get loud enough to attract any kind of attention. Luckily for Ryou that also meant that his pursuers hadn't been alerted of his location. He was quickly dragged behind a dumpster so as to hide him and his captor/savior from those… things. A few heavy moments passed, Ryou didn't dare move, or breathe for that matter. His entire body shook with fear, and tears continued to flow, running over his captors hand like liquid crystals glinting in the light._

_His eyes snapped up to watch the two figures that had been chasing him pass the side alley he'd been jerked into without so much as a glance in its direction. For a few minutes that very well may have been seconds to Ryou's time muddled mind he and his captor stayed hidden. When the sound of the human-like creatures had disappeared the pressure keeping him in place lightened and the hand slid off his mouth. He turned to face the hands owner, breathing out a frantic 'Thank you'. He paused upon catching sad lilac eyes staring straight into his own brown ones. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to spark some light in the person's soulless orbs._

_However, sharp pain in his chest cut him off before he could even think of the words. For Ryou the moment's stilled, as if time itself had been encased in ice and struggled to continue on. He faintly registered hearing himself breathe, a raspy uneven noise that sounded as if in between every fast inhale and exhale of breath he tried to hold it. He might have thought about how much it _hurt _to breathe had his chest not completely numbed out. Slowly he dropped his eyes from the other persons to the source of the pain-turned-numbness. _

_A darkly tanned arm shown from the wrist up, it was covered in gold to the elbow and Ryou didn't see a hand. But _he felt it_. Through the hazy numb nerves he could feel the persons hand in his chest cavity. It moved slowly, as if searching for something that it didn't want to pass over on accident._

_Ryou wanted to throw up._

_Somewhere nearby he heard a bell. Maybe it was a police siren of some sort? He figured it didn't matter. There couldn't be any easy way to sew up a hole large enough you could stick your hand through it in someone's chest. And he was sure the person could escape into the shadowy labyrinth of Domino's back alleys quite easily._

_Suddenly the hand tightened around something in his chest and constricting pain shot through the nerves of his that still worked. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears speed up for a moment before slowing down considerably. Carefully the person began to retract their hand, pulling whatever they'd claimed in Ryou's chest out with it._

"_Ryou…" The person murmured in a voice was far higher than Ryou had expected it to be. He had discovered they were trying to steal his heart from him, in the palm of the person's hand his organ laid, still beating and still half in his chest cavity._

"_Ryou…" They finally managed to pull it all the way out, detaching it from its binds cleanly. Strange… Ryou thought getting his heart torn out would involve lots more blood…_

"Ryou!" Ryou's head shot up, causing the crown of his skull to collide painfully with Miho's chin. Immediately she whined at the pain and took a few slow steps back, away from Ryou's desk where she'd previously been hovering.

Tears collected at the corners of her eyes as she clutched at her chin. Ryou was positive if any of her suitors had been around he'd be getting his ass handed to him for making her 'cry'. However there were none to be seen, Tuesday's kindness was really beginning to worry him.

"Sorry" He squeaked, holding his own throbbing head, "You startled me…"

He stood up slowly, looking around the room to find it completely empty save for Miho and himself. Ryou blushed realizing that that meant his teacher probably knew he'd slept through her lesson

"Miho came here when you didn't come to your locker… The bell rung a while ago…" She seemed to have recovered for the most part, wiping the would-be tears from her eyes and smiling faintly at him.

"We should probably go then…" Ryou mumbled gathering up his books and moving towards the door swiftly with Miho on his heels.

~Tainted~

"You know you don't have to come with me right?" Ryou was nearly hanging off of Miho's front door while she finished gathering things she deemed necessary for Ryou and hers expedition, "I don't want you to get hurt because I've brought you on one of my searches… I've been on enough of them to handle myself pretty well."

Miho had announced she would be accompanying Ryou not long after they'd left the school. At first he'd thought she'd been joking, messing with him. Then he suspected she'd only said she was coming so that he'd call it off to keep her safe. But now… he wasn't so sure, she wasn't chickening out and she hadn't shown any signs of worry about it at all. Ryou finally began to believe that she planned on coming.

"But you've never been to this part of town, right? Miho thinks it'll be different." She called down her stairs. Ryou began to fret.

"Even if it _is_ different it's probably better I go alone…" He didn't exactly want to point out that he had enough of a sign on his back with how feminine he was, and that the presence of an actual girl would do nothing more than make that sign into a large target, begging someone to try to rape them.

"Going alone is dangerous" Miho lamented, finally bouncing down her stairs and moving over to Ryou.

He tried his best to keep his emotions to himself, keeping the knowledge that he was terrible at it in the front of his mind. He probably looked as absolutely petrified as he felt at the idea of her tagging along, his mind kept playing scenes of her getting killed or injured or raped and it being _all his fault_.

Miho was the only person he knew who could deal with his obsessive nature. He knew she didn't like it, but she didn't leave him alone because of it regardless. He wasn't very keen on losing her because of the aspect of him she hated in the first place.

"Look, I really don't think it's a good idea for yo-"

"Hold on" She began digging through her pockets for something. Her expression lit up as she found whatever she'd been looking for, which Ryou learned was a small switch blade as she revealed it to him. He shot her a questioning look as she pressed it into his palm

"Where did you-"

"Miho's Tou-san has lots of knives, Miho thinks we'll need it more than he does right now." Ryou felt physically sick at the idea of actually needing it.

"Miho I-"She grabbed his wrist before he could finish, pulling him outside and closing the door behind him. She pulled a key from her pocket and quickly locked it.

"We should go or we'll run out of light" She said, trying to sound helpful before she began dragging him off towards their destination. Every time he said something that sounded as if he was going to protest she cut him off, only letting him finish his sentences if they were to point things out, or try to steer her in the direction they were meant to be going.

Finally Ryou gave in and tucked the small knife into his pocket.

Soon, the streets became more and more run down. Trash and filth gathered at the feet of cracked-brick buildings, dumpsters, and curbs. Several pairs of suspicious blood-shot eyes followed them, either watching to see if the pair of teenagers would attack them or if they would make a good pair to attack. Ryou suspected that had the sun not been keeping a vigilant eye on Domino his confident act and watchful eyes would not be enough to ward off those who looked for targets.

"Miho," He paused and she looked at him to show she was listening, "If we're gonna hit Cinder-City, it's probably in our best interest to lay low" He was referring of course, to her skinny jeans, baby blue hoodie, and pink rape whistle. He pulled his own black hood up over his bright white locks in order to make himself a little less visible. He silently thanked the heavens that Miho had let him drag her back to his apartment in order to change into something less… conspicuous than his school uniform

She shot him a confused look; obviously the concept of trying to be invisible was lost on her.

Ryou sighed, "Hide your whistle and put up your hood." He dragged her over to walk closer to the building beside them muttering a quick, "Stick close to the shadows, we're almost there"

Miho just nodded dumbly sliding her hood over her bright lavender hair. It was weird watching Ryou switch from Ryou-mode to Watchful-Ryou-mode to Street smart-Ryou-mode. His levels may have seemed like they were progressing smoothly from one to the other to someone who didn't know him enough to watch the signs, but Miho saw. She saw him just flip the switch, change levels in an instant. She wasn't sure if it was remarkable or scary.

He seemed to notice her out of sorts expression because he dragged her from her daydream with a quick, "Don't show weakness, they'll eat it up"

Ryou took the lead, looking back frequently to make sure Miho was sticking close. They hadn't officially crossed into 'Cinder-City' but slowly the shady side of town grew shadier, and even Miho could sense the danger of walking through it. She faintly wondered how Ryou, sweet, kind Ryou could deal with such a thing on a daily basis.

"We're almost there…" He murmured, as a ragged line of flame-kissed pavement ate at the skid marks and tan concrete. Ryou mused that such a dramatic change was a sort of sign that read something akin to 'Welcome to Cinder-City'

Domino had had quite a nasty run in with a wild inferno years before Ryou had ever taken his first breath of life. It'd destroyed just about everything in its path, leaving nothing but the few half burnt buildings that survived and huge piles of rubble. The fire was only vanquished after it took a fourth of the city down to hell with it. Ryou didn't particularly like thinking about the lives it took as well.

Cinder-City had many names, everything from 'The Ash District' to 'Burnt-Town' to the immensely creative 'Site of the Domino Fire'. Ryou was sure that these names had sprung up one after another since the fire was put out. He suspected that Cinder-City had been a rather run down part of town seeing as after the fire was put out no one bothered to try to rebuild, or even clean up the sad fraction of town.

Ryou saw only one standing building that may have once been a house, it was rather far off in distance and massive piles of rubble lined a path that was probably the road leading into that part of town

"Miho doesn't think it seems so bad" Miho murmured, Cinder-City didn't seem as immediately dangerous as where they'd come from so naturally Miho's danger senses switched off, "And after all those rumors…"

"Rumors?" Ryou looked over to her curiously, "What rumors?"

"You haven't heard the rumors?" Miho gasped at him. Ryou raised an eyebrow in question before turning his gaze back on where they were going and the things around them. He figured it didn't matter if he didn't ask, she'd tell him anyway.

"They say a group of witches use people as lab-rats for their spells! And that humans around here are killed or turned into monsters when the witches find them!"

"That's absolutely ridicul-"

"And the monsters eat everyone that comes through so that they can feel the humans beating heart before it stops! It's really scary!"

Ryou noticed movement on the inside of the half-destroyed house through a large burnt hole in the side of it, he squinted his eyes to see if he could make out what exactly said movement was but couldn't quite tell

"Miho, parents probably tell their kids those stories so that they won't go playing around here, they can't possibly be true." Ryou rolled his eyes at the idea.

"No, no people have seen it! People go missing here all the ti-"

Miho was cut off by a piercing scream. Her eyes widened to the point of saucers and Ryou watched her mind shut itself down. Quickly, he grabbed a hold of her arm and dragged her behind the nearest pile of rubble to hide her from any potential threat.

He had a hunch he knew exactly where the noise came from.

Peeking around the small mountain of wreckage he caught sight of the house again. They were far closer to it than they had been before and Ryou could faintly make out two people. One was thrashing about weakly; it continued to make noise but as it went on the sound died down. The other was leaning over it, Ryou could see something dark and red splattered across them both. He felt a little queasy watching as the one that was previously thrashing fell limp and the other one stood, bringing a hand to its mouth to wipe away some of the thick red liquid.

Ryou's first sensible thought was to run, followed closely by the completely crazy idea to get closer and try to get enough details from the remaining person to report to the police.

He made a move to follow suit with the second thought when Miho grabbed his arm, causing him to jump and spin around

"We need to get out of here" He immediately felt terrible when he realized that Miho had seen the very same scene he did, "Ryou we need to get out of here. W-What if that th-thing s-sees us?"

She hiccupped, having started crying somewhere during the little show they witnessed. The tears cascading down her face weren't brushed away as she hadn't quite noticed they were their yet. Ryou's eyes flickered over to the sun and back to Miho.

"Miho, Listen" He cursed himself when he heard his voice quiver, "You need to run back home. Don't let anyone stop you, _Run_, I'll be following soon"

If it was even possible her eyes got wider, "N-No, Ryou you c-can't be serious!"

He pressed his hand over her mouth, "Miho be quiet. I'm just getting a little closer so that I can describe him to the police later, okay? He won't even see me."

He took his hand off of her mouth and immediately wished he hadn't, "You can't! Ryou what if he-"

Finally Ryou snapped, and hissed in the lowest tone he could manage "Miho, Run! He won't see me unless you keep making so much noise!"

She squeaked faintly, taking a few steps back. Something flittered across her face, like she wanted to say something… Like she wanted to say something desperately but kept her mouth shut. Miho turned on her heel and bolted much to Ryou's relief.

He didn't waste a second, keenly aware that if he put it off he'd never get a good look at the person. They were exiting the remnants of the houses front door as he neared the closest pile of rubble. Luckily the person-who Ryou could now finally tell was a man- hadn't seemed to notice Miho's yelling. For very good reason- he was singing something Ryou had never heard before. It was loud, off-key, and the lyrics sounded more like random words he attached to a tune.

A wild mane of blonde hair stuck up almost impossibly from the man's head and swayed gently with every step he took. He wore a black tank-top to cover his muscular torso, and tan pants that were now covered in rapidly drying blood. Ryou tried his hardest not to think about that though. Whenever his eyes met one of the brownish-red spots he felt as if he may throw up, so he kept his eyes on the back of the man's head to avoid catching sight of them.

Ryou hadn't moved from his spot, he'd gotten just about every detail about the man he needed. After all he couldn't think of anyone else who'd look like _that_. Also, it looked to Ryou like the man was drunk; He staggered around and had small moments of talking to himself in between his singing. He wasn't getting very far very fast to say the least.

In a moment though, it all seemed to change. Ryou was just about to turn and run after Miho when the man stopped making noise and turned, looking as if he heard something. Ryou quickly ducked back behind the rubble, only peeking a single eye out to look at the man.

But he didn't quite see him, as he was far too caught up with the sight of hazy purple eyes, nearly identical to the ones of his dream staring straight at him. They didn't hold the same sorrow; this man's had nothing more than blood-lust covered in fog. Ryou shivered as the man smirked and staggered away, resuming his previous song as he went.

It was a challenge, Ryou knew. But that was not why he didn't turn to run. It was not curiosity, or even heroic tendencies that moved him in the direction the man was going. It was a pull. A strange magnetic pull that helped him place one foot in front of the other as he dove from pile to pile.

The man didn't show any other sign or indication that he knew Ryou was there. Ryou knew he could be walking into a trap, but didn't stop his steps because of it. He continued to follow the man through the remnants of Cinder-City, staying low and for the most part invisible, until they came to a rather large building. The flames had only licked a corner off the top leaving the name mostly intact. The building was called _'Sweet Dreams Hotel' _and still looked rather friendly from the outside. Aside from the boarded up windows and burn marks.

The man swung from his path to go inside as if he'd only just seen the place after he nearly passed it. He quieted his singing and fumbled with the door for a few minutes before he finally managed to open it. Leaving it wide open he stumbled inside.

Ryou held his breath for a few moments, he wasn't really sure what he was waiting for, but he stayed still. As moments passed into minutes that ticked by painfully he finally decided it was time to make his move. Ryou stood and bolted to the door, carefully looking inside the building.

Needless to say Ryou's breath wasn't stolen from him with any kind of beauty. The hotel was run-down; its tiled floors were cracked and had large pieces missing, electrical wires hung from the ceiling. Ryou suspected there had once been a lovely chandelier there, but for one reason or another it was taken down: Stolen, salvaged, or it just broke and fell to the floor. The windows had been boarded up from the outside, and from the inside one could see what was left of them, broken glass lay scattered across the floor. What was once a check-in desk was now covered in a variety of bottles and cans. Ryou noted that it held everything from simple soda to hard liquor.

A dank, musty smell attacked Ryou's senses the moment he walked inside the building. Every step he took was careful and measured. He wasn't going to fall into an obvious trap, if he was going to fall into a trap at all.

He continued on, slowly but surely lowering his guard as he moved deeper into the hotel. Once he'd gotten though the lobby the floor turned into a faded cream color carpet, it had multiple stains in it that Ryou would rather not think about and lead past an elevator that he doubted worked. A door with a picture of stairs on it just past the elevator drew Ryou to it. However before he could make it to the door a lightly accented voice rung from behind him,

"What are you doing here?" It was male and rather malicious. Though Ryou figured this person had every right to be, from what he could make out it sounded faintly like the voice of the drunken man who'd lead him there in the first place.

He froze in his tracks for a moment, as if the person wouldn't be able to see him if he didn't move.

"Answer the question." The man hissed, impatient with Ryou's mute stalling. Finally the albino turned to look at who was addressing him.

The man seemed more like a boy to him. He was only a little taller than Ryou himself, and had a rather slender build. A lavender hoodie revealed both his midriff and his arms, which Ryou admitted weren't as scrawny as the rest of him seemed to be. He had an attractive layer of muscle hidden under a stretch of bronze skin. Blonde hair reached past his shoulders, and his long bangs were pushed out of his face to reveal dark sunglasses and a deep frown. His arms and throat were decorated with what seemed to be gold, though Ryou doubted they were actually made of the metal. A small layer of sweat lay over his skin, implying that he'd just been doing something rather straining on his body.

"I… Well…" Ryou scrapped for something to say. What was he doing there exactly? He certainly wasn't looking for Amane, or going to the police like he was supposed to be doing. He didn't have a real reason; he just followed that man to the hotel…

"You're trying to get to the King aren't you?" The boy growled, finally fed-up with Ryou not answering him, "Pathetic. You thought you could just waltz in and get him to tell you something, huh?"

Ryou processed the accusations slowly, "I'm… What?"

"Stop playing dumb!" The boy snapped finally moving over to him, "I can see the knife in your pocket! Your intentions are pretty clear, fucker"

Ryou flinched at the boy's words, "The knife…?" His eyes trailed down to his jean pocket to see that there was in fact a bulge there from the switch blade Miho had given him earlier.

"Oh nononono!" He squeaked holding his hands up in surrender, "I'd never use it to hurt someone! I have it for self defense…"

"Yeah _that's_ likely" sarcasm dripped from his words, "If you aren't going to have the balls to fess up to your crime than I'll prove your guilt myself"

Ryou stepped back when the boy stepped forward, fear clearly written across his face. What could that possibly mean? Did this boy intend to torture Ryou until he confessed to intentions he never had?

"W-What do you-"Warmth spread throughout his chest after the boy lunged at him, knocking him onto his back. A familiar sensation filled him, one he vaguely remembered… Like someone was moving their hand inside his chest in search of something. There was no pain, just warmth, and the odd feeling of touch inside his ribcage he wasn't accustomed to. Ryou stared straight up at the boys face in shock; he was searching for some kind of explanation as to _what the hell_ was going on.

The sunglasses the boy had been wearing slipped off, knocking Ryou on the head before they tumbled onto the floor. The next few moments that passed seemed to slow down in Ryou's mind he felt like he could only pick up bits and pieces of the big picture, only certain details registered in his mind.

Purple irises trained on his chest, followed by blinding light, and finished off with the embrace of a black abyss.


	3. Sealing of Fates

**Oh my goodness I apologize so much for the absolute lateness of this chapter. School has begun so I don't have nearly enough time and this chapter would have been up weeks ago but I hated it and needed to re-write it. These excuses however do not even cover the terrible amount of time it took to get this up. I'm so sorry. Anyway, quick announcements- 1) This Chapter is not beta'd but I'm pretty sure the next one will be thanks to a lovely reviewer 2) Speaking of Reviewers, thank you so much Lazy Gaga and SailorDeathMoon for the reviews! Thanks to all who alerted and favorited this fic and… on with the story!**

**Disclaimer- still no different from the first disclaimer. If you need to be reminded that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh go back to the prologue.**

Chapter 2- Sealing of Fates

"_Ahhh!"_

"_Amane! Are you alright?"_

"_Y-yeah"_

"_You're bleeding!"_

"_I-it hurts…."_

"_Stay here, I'm gonna go get mom!"_

"_W-wait! Don't leave me here alone!"_

"_I'll only be gone a minute, just hang tight, Okay?"_

"_Okay…"_

Ryou's welcoming back into reality was odd. Though his consciousness sparked back to life, his body stayed down under a heavy weight in his chest surrounded by an almost alarming sea of near-numbness. Bits and pieces of his body tingled lightly, but not nearly enough to really annoy him into stirring. His senses were fuzzy and off, leaving him unable to really make things out in his state. Though, he knew they were coming back slowly, as the rooms musty smell became more and more apparent as the seconds ticked by.

He lay quite still, tuning into the parts of his body he could feel around the numbness that dominated most of it. The dull throb of weight in his chest, accenting itself with every beat of his heart, brought the faint image to his mind of a cinder block lying on top of it. He couldn't feel any of his fingers, but his arms tingled uncomfortably, along with his feet, which twitched ever so often under the odd feeling.

It gave him a sort of comfort. Even if the pain and tingling weren't all that pleasurable, they still proved he could feel something. Anything in the limbo of numbness was relieving to say the least.

What certainly wasn't relieving or comforting was the thought of how in the world he'd ended up like he did. The clear memories he had didn't have anything unusual to them-other than some uncommon luck- He woke up, got to Domino high, spoke with Miho, went from class to class, then back home to change so he could look for Amane. Bits and pieces seemed to be missing however, as if they'd been cut out or someone had spilled ink over them, shielding them from his eyes. He supposed it could be attributed to however he'd been knocked unconscious and hoped faintly he didn't have any kind of brain damage.

Backtracking a bit, a small bitter chuckle erupted from his throat

Of course he'd been looking for Amane; He'd probably stumbled across the wrong person or pissed off someone who _really _shouldn't have been angered. He always knew trying to find her would be the death of him, but the concept of stopping didn't sit well with him.

What didn't make much sense in his mind was why he didn't plan his search. He was usually so careful about setting up where he'd look and leave notes around his apartment for someone to find if something went wrong. _What had he been thinking? How did he get himself in this mess?_

Ryou was nearly sure he was alone, there was no breathing or rustling of someone fidgeting anywhere. His mind reasoned that through its own loudness and his hearts beating those noises could have easily been drowned out, but Ryou didn't listen to it. He needed to move, to figure out exactly what was going on and how he could get home safe and sound.

The bits of numb his limbs had still held sprung to life with more uncomfortable tingling when he began to stir about. As if his entire body had fell asleep like his legs would when he sat on them for too long. He writhed about, trying to dispel the unpleasant feeling and only managing to make it worse for a number of moments before it began to fade.

When his body finally felt something akin to normal he opened his eyes, and forced himself to sit up, causing the blanket that had been lying on top of him to pool around his waist.

Light flickered wildly around the walls, like moving cave pictures painting masterpieces and unending stories for single moments before disappearing and creating entirely new ones. Their master creation-weavers being none other than a few candles placed around the rather large room.

The place resembled a hotel room almost perfectly. What, with its low ceiling and huge bed, cute little desk and drawn curtains over what Ryou could only assume to be doors to a balcony. But, he noted that the word 'almost' fit the description well. Hotel rooms were clean and kept while this one was absolutely filthy. Clothes were splattered across the floor as if a closet had been sick, the small desk was stacked with more books, paper, and relative junk than Ryou could even believe it could hold, and the distinct smell of month-old take-out hung heavily in the air.

Unlike a hotel room, it was obviously lived in, and regarded as some form of home. A multitude of things covered in letters he didn't recognize hung on the walls: magazine clippings of everything from motorcycles to archeological digs, Band posters, newspaper clippings, sticky notes with reminders on them… there wasn't any open space that hadn't been taken.

The thing that intrigued Ryou the most however was the collection of miscellaneous junk laid out almost strategically out on the nightstand so as to keep it all from falling off. Some of the more notable things being a small bottle of black liquid, copious amounts of golden jewelry, and a small stack of neatly folded paper all dancing around each other in perfect formation. The only thing that didn't seem to have a place was a small shard of bluish-grey stained glass haphazardly close to the edge. The strong need to fix it, to just touch it, even for only a moment washed over him. He reached out to do so but his entire body absolutely froze when a faint sound of jiggling door handles met his ears, followed closely by hushed cursing in a mixture of Japanese and another language(or two) that he didn't understand.

In an instant he'd broken his deer-in-the-headlights instinct and was on his feet, looking desperately for somewhere to hide. Was there even a place he wouldn't be suspected to hide in, in such a room? Under the desk was too open, in the bathroom was too obvious, there was no room under the bed… He'd have to make do with the closet, though it was no less obvious than anywhere else he really didn't have much of a choice.

He stuffed himself into the space-less hiding spot, wrestling with a collection of tank-tops in order to close the door behind him as the one leading into what he presumed to be a hallway slammed open sending vibrations through the walls big enough to be noticeable to Ryou's shaking body.

Footsteps were soft on carpet, accented by a very faint (and in Ryou's opinion very childish) stomp. They stopped after only a moment followed by a very tired sounding

"Oh, Ra damn it all"

He held his breath, remaining absolutely paralyzed with his entire body pressed against the closet door as the frantic sound of rustling drowned out all silence. His stomach knotted itself over and over again and his heart beat so loud in his chest he could only pray the rooms' new occupant couldn't hear it.

What was he to do if he was found? He didn't know where he was, so running would only get him lost. Though, the situation might be improved from his current one. He didn't exactly have something to knock his assailant out with like in those action movies he used to watch. Or, if he did have something it was hidden under the closets cloak of darkness and thus absolutely useless to him…

The rustling came to a halt and Ryou's lungs screeched for air. He tried to strain his ears to hear through his heart's mini-marathon. Calm, almost thoughtful footsteps began sounding again. Though they remained soft and lost the stomp they'd held every one of them sounded like a gunshot to Ryou's ears.

He couldn't think. The emotions were too strong and too ever-changing to focus on words to describe them with. The muddled confusing state of his mind couldn't drown out the footsteps however, and the moment they ceased he could swear echoes of the action replayed over and over again in his head for the few moments in between events and movements.

The door opened in one quick motion, drenching Ryou and the clothes around him in light as well as taking away the object holding most of his weight. He didn't even have time to even open his mouth to scream, as the moment he tipped forward as if to fall, one strong hand was on his chest, keeping him upright and the other was over his mouth, so as to provide insurance against any actual screaming Ryou may have done.

The odd familiarity almost scared Ryou more than the fact that he could be facing a serial killer

"Please don't make noise" his attacker/kidnapper/whatever he was to Ryou murmured, hushed and panicked.

Ryou was absolutely still. His paralysis hadn't quite worn off or faded, and nothing but absolute fear (and this person's hand) kept him in place… Though he'd started breathing again and if nothing else he could consider that an improvement. Passing out now that his location was revealed wasn't in his best interest. He figured, even if he wasn't so absolutely terrified he wouldn't try to fight. Though he'd considered it as a way to get to safety, it honestly wasn't in his nature.

Slowly, and quite unsurely the hand was removed, the boy continued to look hesitant but managed to put a bit of trust in Ryou (Or more likely Ryou's fear induced mental shut down). Ryou balanced himself, immediately after the second hand was drawn back as well.

"I swear to you that I'm not going to hurt you" He assured, holding both of his hands up in a show of vulnerability. Ryou may have seemed naive or innocent, but even he didn't buy such cliché bullcrap. All his trust was locked up tight in his chest.

The boy rightfully took Ryou's defensive position as failure. He began to look rather uncomfortable and one of his hands went to his forearm, groping for something that obviously wasn't there. A light frown dusted his features and he pulled his hand from whatever nervous habit it had been trying to perform.

"I don't expect you to trust me" He said evenly, "But I _am_ on your side and I intend to help you"

The boy's eyes never left Ryou as he moved back. The whitette could only assume this meant he wasn't the only one who didn't throw around trust foolishly, and had a small stab of respect for the boy. It wasn't often that he wasn't underestimated. After the boy settled himself on the unmade bed continuing to look uncomfortable and seeming rather hawkish in his awkward perched position he motioned for Ryou to come take a seat near him.

Ryou almost admired the way the boy managed to look submissive and so very manipulative at the same time. It reminded him, who was pulling the strings, and no matter how much truth the two danced around for the sake of civility, the game they played, or the sweet strings of lies, Ryou refused to delude himself into believe he was really in charge. They both knew that wasn't true, and illusions of power would do nothing more than get Ryou absolutely played.

Even so, he allowed himself to be coaxed out of the closet space and onto the corner of the bed furthest from the boy. He kept his feet firmly on the ground, and his eyes on the rooms other occupant, absolutely ready to bolt at the first real sign of danger.

The boy seemed happy enough with the small show of trust, no matter how miniscule it was.

"You want to help me?" Ryou echoed the earlier statement, his face covered with a mask of false confidence that shown in his voice, "Could you tell me what's going on first?"

The boy shifted positions, pulling his feet up under him and turning his attention to the bed side table. Ryou watched him stall with minor annoyance. He'd pull a piece of golden jewelry into his lap and fumble with it for a few moments, pressing thumb prints into the metal and wiping them away, before replacing it and beginning the process again.

"I'm Malik" He finally spoke, keeping his inhuman lilac eyes on the object and looking a rather puzzling mix of contemplative and sorrowful.

"I'm Bakura" Ryou muttered, continuing to keep Malik at a physical and metaphorical distance with distrust and formalities, "It's rather nice to meet you Malik-san"

A wry smile shown on the other boys' face, "You can say that it's _not_ nice meeting me Bakura-kun, I won't blame you… But, please drop the suffix. I really don't deserve it." He looked back up and Ryou caught sight of a very tired look in his eyes. It was something so… simply truthful… So absolutely real in some kind of pain he couldn't fathom. It was impossible to ignore. Those were eyes that saw the worst of the world… Those were the eyes Ryou stared into when his reflection stared back.

Bakura Ryou was not a heartless human being. He watched his back, yes. But he did not over look another's pain when it was so blatantly obvious. In doing so he may have been as naïve as he liked to believe he wasn't, but none the less, he pulled his legs to sit on them as Malik had done and turned to get a better look at the boy.

"Alright Malik" He stayed guarded. There wasn't enough trust in him that the simple gesture could make Ryou forget the situation all-together.

The tanned boy offered him a small smile of gratitude, "I'm sorry about all of this… But… You should really be more careful about the places you poke around… A lot of them really aren't all that friendly."

"I was looking for someone" Ryou murmured cryptically, playing with the few details he knew in order to keep his head above water.

Malik didn't exactly look surprised, but there was a shred of sympathy gleaming in his eyes, "If you've lost them in Pyro-Ville you've lost them forever."

He was in Pyro-ville? How on Earth had he talked himself into going into _the_ Pyro-ville without a well thought out plan!

"I have to look anyway" He muttered quietly, drawing his muddy brown eyes up to look into violet ones.

There was a long pause.

"Whoever you're looking for really isn't worth what's looking for _you_ in these parts." The other boy dropped his eyes back to the golden jewelry in his lap, either unwilling or too tired to hold Ryou's gaze, "Please understand. If you've lost them here they're gone forever."

A brew of doubt, pain, and fear mixed together in Ryou's stomach. Bubbling and boiling until it was ready to spill over. With a tight polite tone Ryou repeating himself as Malik had, "I have to look anyway"

"No, you don't," The tanned boy insisted, "Don't waste your life on someone who's not coming back, it's danger-"

"I am not wasting my life!" Ryou hissed, his voice raising a few octaves, "I'm lost in Pyro-ville aren't I? I'm not gone forever! I can't be! Not yet!"

Malik flinched back, staring in absolute shock for a few moments as if he had a hard time believing the pale teen was capable of such a violent outburst. Getting to his feet, he started gathering a few things around the room, staying silent all the while as Ryou watched him with a mix of distrust and curiosity.

"What are you-"

"We need to go. I'm getting you out of here."

"Wha-Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home."

"No you're not"

Malik stopped and turned to look at Ryou like he'd grown a second head, "You don't want to be 'gone forever' right?"

"Of course I don't!"

"Then we need to get you out of here before someone less friendly finds you here!"

"A little late for that don't you think so?" The silky sound made Malik jump and Ryou nearly fell off his corner of the bed at the sudden appearance of an oddly dressed blonde woman in the mouth of a doorway leading to what he'd presumed to be a balcony. Judging from the fluttering curtains and inky black background it really was a balcony, but how-

"The hell Mai!?" Malik growled, his voice having gone higher from surprise, "How'd you get there?!"

"I flew," She stated in an amused tone, "You have a real nasty habit of not locking your doors"

She was absolutely covered in decorative feathers, long strings holding them fluttered down from her belt, some hung in her hair, some dangled from her ears, and some were even stuck in the cloth of her jacket. This almost distracted him from her odd answer to go along with the rest of her all around strangeness

"What are you doing here?" Malik ground out, looking thoroughly irritated by this woman, "I know you didn't just have the sudden urge to visit me."

Mai pouted, placing a delicate looking hand on her hip, "Ye have little faith. Maybe I did just want to visit you…"

"No. You didn't. Get to the point before I push you off that balcony."

She really had no difficulty ruffling Malik's feathers (Ryou chuckled internally at the irony). She'd hardly said ten words and he was already sharpening the claws he'd use to tear open her throat.

Holding up her hands in mock surrender, Mai gave up her half-baked charade, "Alright, alright don't get your panties in a bunch," Malik growled quietly and Mai cleared her throat, "Hear-ye, hear-ye, our king, our most royal highness wishes the audience of his most beloved servant and companion… you. And your little friend there." The almost-friendly taunting aura she'd had melted into what seemed to be her own annoyance, "Please try to stay out of trouble for more than a few days. I really, really hate getting woken up at two in the morning to carry messages because you've screwed up. This is getting old Malik."

He, in return, showed no signs of giving a response. His eyes stayed stuck on hers in a death glare that Ryou couldn't help but think she didn't deserve.

The woman sighed and glided by the tanned boy on her journey to the door. Everything had been said, she'd been wrongly thrown into the role of the target for whatever anger her message had sparked in him and he was left to think about what he'd done.

Ryou didn't know whether to be scared or curious about the turn of events dropped in the lap of his already pretty bad situation. He wondered who this 'King' was and how Malik had gotten in trouble. Could it be _because_ Malik planned on helping him? Or maybe it was because the boy had other intentions and the King was going to save Ryou by calling his 'most beloved servant and companion' out on it.

Moreover, how many subjects did this king have? Were there only two? Or were their two hundred? Or two thousand? Was this King on his side? Had he somehow acquired himself an enemy?

Too many questions piled into his brain, making it throb within the confines of his skull. Though it seemed he wasn't the only one with a headache.

Malik dropped onto the mattress, rubbing his temples and sighing deeply.

Opting to answer at least some of his questions, he decided he'd make the poor boys headache worse, "What… Just happened, exactly?"

"A massive change of plans" Malik moaned ruefully, keeping his eyes closed and preventing Ryou from reading any deeper emotions from them.

"What do you mean?"

Another one of their long silences stretched between them. Ryou spent all of it performing multiple different nervous habits and trying not to think while Malik lay completely motionless excluding the rise and fall of his chest.

As this moment grew to a ridiculous length he began to suspect that the blonde had actually fallen asleep in the moment of their big game changer, but was proven wrong when the other boy hauled himself to his feet and finally allowed Ryou to see his tired eyes. Which only seemed years older from the encounter with Mai.

"We have to go. C'mon." He moved towards the door Mai had vanished out of several moments before. His footsteps seemed significantly louder than when he'd been gathering things, as if now a great deal of weight had been dumped on his shoulders making it hard for him to even move under its crushing pressure.

Against his better judgment (which he'd been ignoring a lot lately), Ryou shut his mouth and followed the other into the hallway.

The journey through the predictable halls and stairwells of a typical completely-abandoned-partially burnt-through-mess of a hotel was long and absolutely silent. Malik didn't seem to want to speak and Ryou, ever polite and considerate as he was, respected the others need for quiet.

He supposed he could use a slice of that quiet as well. Breaking down what had happened without panicking was probably beneficial to him. He had to assume the ball would not be in his court for whatever conversation he, Malik, and this King were going to have. Maybe it wasn't much, but he could at the very least gain some ground.

Okay, he'd woken up in some old hotel room in Cinder-city. A man named Malik came in and claimed he wanted to help him. He was searching for Amane without a plan and apparently poked his nose in the wrong place. He got knocked out. He had no idea what day it was, how long he'd been out, or where exactly in Cinder-city he was. Though the way Malik talked about it maybe they were on the outskirts… That wouldn't make sense though… There weren't any abandoned hotels as big as the one they were in anywhere in Domino-_Oh God what if they weren't in Domino at all?_ They could be anywhere! Malik's room had been covered in a weird language… but the boy was obviously foreign and spoke Japanese well… So did Mai, and Malik had made it sound like Ryou's home was within walking distance.

Alright. Wherever he was still remained a mystery. As well as where he'd poked his nose and how he'd been knocked out. He should probably be thankful he wasn't killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… the prospect that he could have very well have been dead and _not woken up at all_ had only really just hit him.

Oddly, there was no massive emotional impact. No heart hammering, no heavy breathing, no trembling… he'd expected it. He'd always expected to die. Not because everyone did, or there was absolutely no escape but… because he lived such a dangerous life. He wasn't looking for thrill or rebelling against authority or finding the wrong crowd. He was looking in the most eligible places for a kidnapped girl to be held. He was searching for the only thing he knew he needed to protect. He didn't _want_ to die along the way, by any means. He couldn't help her if he was dead and the prospect of death wasn't exactly appealing, but sooner or later his bad luck and fate would meet in the middle and Ryou would slip up.

He'd like to say he was out of the woods, but given how things looked this day could still be his death-day. It still had slipping up potential, no matter-

Malik stopped walking and Ryou ran right into the foreign boys back. His pale features lit up red with embarrassment, and he began to stutter out an apology that apparently wasn't cared for as Malik turned to look him straight in the eye,

"Bakura-kun, listen." He whispered, expression covered in urgency and grim seriousness, as he clasped Ryou's shoulders, "Whatever he says, don't agree to it. I swear nothing he offers is worth what you'll lose. I know you don't trust me, but _please_, I'm begging you to _say no_"

He opened his mouth to respond but Malik had turned and started walking again. Ryou jogged lightly to keep up once he'd pulled himself together, not long after they'd started moving again they stopped. He collided unceremoniously with Malik's back when the tan boy halted once more, and muttered a few frantic apologies that went completely ignored.

"Goodness, late again I see"

The voice was odd and unfamiliar. Unfathomably casual in its power and authority, Ryou couldn't help the jolt of raw fear that constricted his innards at its bell-like tinkle.

"Deeply sorry, your majesty"

He couldn't see Malik's face, but if the tension in his shoulders said anything at all his expression probably wasn't showing any of the plethora of emotions he'd seen from the boy before facing this person.

Realizing he hadn't even seen the person due to Malik's subtle show of shielding him from them, he moved out from behind him.

The man Ryou could only guess was this king everyone spoke of was quite different than he'd expected him to be: Grey hair pooled around his shoulders from where it fell over one eye, pristine in its clean-cut edge. His clothing was high-class, fancy, ironed, and very uncomfortable looking in Ryou's opinion.

He stood against the wall, though he wasn't leaning on it. A blank-covered book lay open in one palm while a page that looked as if it'd been torn out hung in the other. The man dropped it, allowing it to flutter to the floor along with a few other fallen brethren.

Ryou couldn't help but think this person wasn't as absolutely terrifying as his voice made him seem. He almost seemed kind, beaming at the sight of him.

"Ah, Mister Bakura! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The odd use of formality from some western culture Ryou didn't care much to remember sounded completely normal to the man's lips. The book plummeted to the floor along with its pages, and at once, one of Ryou's hands was clasped in between the spidery white finger the man possessed

Ryou stared for a long few moments, finally letting out an intelligent, "Uhhh… how did you-"

"Know your name?" The man finished quickly, still smiling blindingly at him, "Why my dear boy, I know everything"

For another silence, he tried to grasp his situation, "I… don't know what's going on here, but I don't really think-"

"Nonsense! Nonsense!" He found himself interrupted by the delighted cheer, his attempt at voicing his doubts cut off without any thought, "Oh my, we're still in the corridor! Loitering like hooligans" A small chuckle tinkled from the man's throat, "Come, come, into my study, we can chat properly in private."

Ryou was pushed through a door into a large, warm colored room. Only a moment passed before the man followed, and, though Ryou waited Malik did not.

As if reading his mind, one of those pale thin hands waved dismissively in Ryou's direction, "Don't worry, our dear Malik simply clearing up that mess. He probably won't be back in time for our meeting"

This invasion of his mind left him feeling vulnerable and helpless. He could no longer stand still, and though he finally regained enough sense of the circumstances to school his expression into general indifference, his nervous ticks gave away his real feelings.

"What do you think?" Across the room the man seated himself in a large plush chair. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on a large desk

"Of what?" Ryou asked mildly, keeping himself together as best as he could

"Why our humble abode, of course!"

"It's…quite nice-"

"Lovely!" This was truly beginning to annoy him. His sentence had been cut off at the very end as if it had taken ages for him to say it and the man was a bit too impatient, "I really do regret to inform you that you probably won't be seeing it again after this. Please understand my concern, you see, I simply cannot have you speaking of this. If anyone were to find us here, we'll have… quite a lot of trouble…" Through his small speech he continued to look around rather dramatically, every once in a while his eye would dart back to Ryou before he pretended like it never had.

"Why would you have trouble? Are you living here illegally or something?"

"I suppose you could say that… but it's really not the problem… We have quite the little secret that everyone would want…"

Every overdramatized gesture hinted far too much for Ryou to ignore. The man reminded him faintly of a small child urging their parent to ask about one of their toys.

"And…. What would that secret be?"

Bait, taken.

"Knowledge!" No hesitation, no beating around the bush, no delay at all.

"Knowledge?"

He shouldn't have asked. He should have assured the man he wouldn't tell and leave. He should have waited for Malik to return. He should have refused the meeting

…Not that he remembered anyone asking if such a meeting was alright with him.

"Yes, yes, knowledge like you wouldn't believe!"

"Ah, well, please don't worry about me. You're secret is safe um…"

"Oh! How could I be so forgetful! I'm called Pegasus."

"Thank you, Pegasus-san. I'm… quite sorry about all of this…"

"Sorry?!"Ryou jumped at the increased volume of Pegasus's already loud voice, "Why would you be sorry? Searching for your sister…. Such a noble thing to do! I look up to you my boy!"

He stood still for a long time. Just staring at the other like a deer-in-the-headlights.

"How did you know I was searching for her?"

Pegasus smiled, "I know everything."

Logically, Ryou wanted to deny the statement. Being all knowing was impossible. But damn if his emotions hadn't been strapped to roller coaster after roller coaster since he woke up…

Logic… really didn't seem so important anymore

"Everything?" He echoed

"Everything."

"So… You… You know everything I've thought up till now?"

"Yep."

Ryou stopped his absolutely dumbstruck gawking and attempted to pull some pride together. He stood up straighter and held his head higher "Prove it."

"I can't!" It was blatantly cheery, once more without hesitation or fear of not being believed.

He deflated, "I'm sorry… why not?"

"Because my dear boy! Nothing in life is free! If you want to know you must prove to me that you deserve to know"

"How would one do that?" Ryou was just about sure the man was conning him, and there was no real reason to stand here listening to the absolute bullshit he was being fed

"My tasks! You have to complete ten tasks to get an answer to any question your heart may hold"

"What… are these tasks…?"

"Secrets!" Finally he begun to feel annoyance, "You will learn one by one as you do them! But you best do them fast dear Ryou, your poor sister is waiting ever-so patiently, and you're rather late as it is…"

Snap.

"How dare you pretend to know about Amane!" In less than a moment Ryou was leaning heavily on Pegasus' desk in order to get close to the man, "Do not mention her again, you don't deserve it you lying snake!"

Pegasus' smile didn't waver, he didn't even flinch, "Come now Ryou, let's hold onto our tempers. I am simply offering you a chance to learn where your sister is. Ten little tasks are all you have to do… and as I am aware this is the first real lead you've ever come across."

Immediately the younger of the two cooled off, moving away from the desk and watching the man carefully, "How do I know you know where she is?"

"Because I know everything."

"Am I really meant to believe that?" Suddenly he felt very tired, as if the day's events were finally catching up to him.

"Hmmm… I suppose you wouldn't… Here! Your name is Ryou Bakura, and you write letters to your dear sister whom has been missing for about…. Seven years"

"You could have easily learned that without knowing everything. I don't exactly hide the letters, and it's not hard to find out about Amane."

"You burned the first letter you wrote at age 8. It was the only letter you ever dated."

Silence hung for a long moment.

"How did you…"

"Really, I'm getting tired of repeating myself."

Ryou didn't try to straighten his back or raise his head; he simply stared, looking nothing less than absolutely pathetic, "So… you can really tell me where she is?"

"Yes."

"As long as I complete your tasks?"

"Naturally."

"I… I accept the tasks. I'll do it."

Pegasus grinned and held out his hand, "We have a deal then?"

"Y-yes, we have a deal" Ryou shook the limp offered to him. Malik's warning and all common sense completely forgotten.

He would do it.

He would get Amane back

**Thanks for reading! If you have a moment drop a review!**


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